Office of the Chapter 13 Trustee
Western District of Kentucky
200 South 7th Street, Suite 310
Louisville, KY 40202
William W. Lawrence is the Chapter 13 Trustee for the Western District of Kentucky. He is also a Chapter 7 Trustee for the Western District of Kentucky. When corresponding, please keep in mind the following:
Suite 310;(502)581-9042 is for Chapter 13
Suite 300;(502)583-4484 is for Chapter 7.
Our website address is www.louchapter13.com. Contained on that web page is a
link to a web site that allows you to access case information - www.13network.com.
for a password and user id,
click here.
Print and fill out the form and mail it to our office. Upon receipt, our system manager
will then issue you a password and user id that will allow you to access case information
for your clients’ cases.
Our phone number is (502)581-9042. our office has twelve employees, each
handling different aspects of the cases. When calling, please allow our receptionist to
direct calls to the appropriate party. Our office staff will make every effort to answer
your clients’ questions if they call. However, our office can not give legal advice.
Please advise your clients of this.
No. With the implementation of ECF in August 2002, all documents filed with
court are automatically sent to our office on a daily basis. therefore, please save a tree
and do not mail us copies.
Agreed Orders - If you would like the trustee to sign an agreed order,
please mail it to our office with a return envelope. After reviewing, the trustee will sign
and mail the order back to you for you to file with court.
Prior to the 341 meeting, please make sure all plans are thorough and state clearly
how all secured creditors are to be treated (i.e. is the secured creditor “inside” or
“outside” the plan – if “inside” the plan, how much are you securing the creditor for and
at what interest rate). Double check that every plan works mathematically, and factor in
the following: the trustee’s fee is 3.20%, and your fee is $2500 (for cases paying more
than $10,000 back to creditors; $900 for those paying less).
After the 90 day bar date occurs in a case, review all claims in detail – do not
just check the claims register. Discrepancies between the claims register and the actual
claims do occur. If a claim was listed on the order of confirmation as “no claim filed,”
now is the perfect time to check to see if a claim has been filed. If one has, please file the
appropriate motion to amend the order of confirmation. On all claims, please be sure to
provide correct addresses and account numbers.
The procedure for show cause hearings has changed. Please file a response with
a corresponding order at least five (5) business days before the hearing date. Also,
please be advised that debtors do not get noticed – it is the attorney’s responsibility to
inform the debtors.
If a creditor needs to be added, payments changed, or any other modification becomes necessary after confirmation, please review the plan and file the appropriate motion. Always include all pertinent information not only in the motion, but also in the order (ex: if adding a creditor, include claim amount and address). Also, if you are requesting additional fees, that must also be included in the order. If it is mentioned in the motion, but not on the order, you will not receive those fees.
Please also see entry number 4 on the top 10 list – make sure that the math on your amended plan works, too.
If the trustee’s office files a motion to increase plan payments, and the debtor is
unable to do so, please review the plan and file a motion to modify the plan appropriately.
If reducing the plan percentage, once again verify that the plan will still pass the chapter
7 liquidation test.
If the debtor moves, please provide the new address to our office. Also, if the
debtor changes employment, the debtor needs to notify our office so we may amend the
wage deduct accordingly.
Please remind debtors that if their plans are paying back less than 100% to unsecured creditors, they are required to submit a current budget, copies of state and federal tax returns, and any refunds each year by may 15th. (see local rule 13). Debtors that are not required to file returns must still file a current budget and a statement to that effect. If debtors do not comply, they run the risk of being dismissed.
If a debtor requests a payoff in a case, do not depend on the figure shown on 13network.com, as the website does not factor in interest. Also, the claims have to be checked, and any case under 100% may be increased. Please call our office to request an accurate payoff.
Note: if a third party not involved with the bankruptcy, i.e. mortgage company,
requests a payoff, we must have written authorization from the debtor to release
information.
A claims check is performed when all cases approach completion. If there are
any discrepancies, we will contact your office to get the matter resolved. In order to
expedite this process, please return our calls. It may be necessary for you to amend
claims, move to disallow late claims, or add claims. We will advise you of what the
claims check found, and ask you to file the appropriate paperwork in a timely manner.